FAO assists refugees, farmers

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is due to distribute this week maize seeds to 1,600 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who live in the Central African Republic (CAR), a FAO official told IRIN. At the same time, FAO has approved two projects worth US $727,000 presented by the CAR government, to support crop and poultry farmers, and those engaged in animal husbandry. These sectors were seriously affected by conflict in the country between October 2002 and March 2003. The FAO programmes officer in Bangui, Etienne Ngounio Gabia, told IRIN on Friday that the distribution of maize seeds to the refugees would take place in Camp Molangue, 140 km south of Bangui, the capital. He said the refugees had received cassava cuttings in 2001, which they had successfully used for two agricultural seasons. He added that "political and military problems" had prevented the agency from completing the $228,000-project, whose aim was to help the refugees attain self-sufficiency in food. There are about 10,000 DRC refugees in the CAR, 3,000 of whom live in Camp Molangue. Out of the 3,000 refugees in Molangue, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has already identified 1,600 willing to cultivate maize. Ngounio said each of the beneficiaries would receive between 20 and 30 kilos “to cover 500 square metres”. He added that about 100 CAR families in villages around Molangue would also receive maize seeds. Ngounio said 10 mt of maize seeds had already been locally purchased and tested. Preparations for the planting season, which normally begins in April-May in the CAR, were seriously affected by the October 2002-March 2003 fighting between government and rebel troops because farmers in the north of the country fled their homes, abandoning their farms. In addition, the seed stores of the Institut Centrafricain de Recherche Agricole, a national body collecting and providing farmers with seeds, were looted during the conflict. Fighting ended when former army chief of staff Francois Bozize ousted President Ange-Felix Patasse on 15 March. "It will be possible to plant maize up to the end of June," Ngounio said. He added that cassava, the country’s staple food, could be planted up to September. Regarding FAO's support for the agriculture sector, he said the government had been informed about the approval of the projects on Thursday, and that the agency and the government would soon sign an agreement for their implementation. He said that the two projects were aimed at benefiting only those crop and livestock farmers who were affected by a coup attempt in October 2002 by Bozize against Patasse. Ngounio said the first project, costing $386,000, would target food crop farmers who would receive seeds and agricultural material from FAO. "Farmers will plant these seeds for the next planting season," he said, as the 2003-2004 planting season had already started. The second project, worth $341,000, is for livestock farmers who were affected by the October 2002-March 2003 fighting. "This project will be implemented immediately," he said. FAO would import day-old chicks and pig, rabbit and goat sires to be distributed to rearers, he added. With the help of international and national experts, he said, the FAO would train rearers on how to handle the imported sires. An FAO-supported study carried out in November 2002 in Bangui showed that the crop and livestock sector suffered serious damage because of the fighting. Food prices increased 40-100 percent, especially for meat (100 percent) and chicken (40 percent). Hundreds of cows were slaughtered and poultry breeding cooperatives associations looted. Meanwhile, FAO has begun the implementation of another seed project for victims of a 28 May 2001 coup attempt. Ngounio said those targeted were 4,000 farmers in Bangui's southern suburbs and villages along the road to Mbaiki, a town 107 km southwest of the city. Beginning this week, the farmers are to receive maize seeds and support in market gardening as well as in animal husbandry. The 28 May 2001 coup attempt by former President Andre Kolingba against President Patasse led to the displacement of thousands of residents of the city's southern suburbs and the destruction of their food reserves. This project was delayed by the conflicts that occurred between May 2001 and March 2003.